Today on Kresta in the Afternoon - March 2, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 2

4:00 – Kresta Comments: Blunt Amendment Fails in Senate
By a vote of 51-48 yesterday, Senate Democrats killed an amendment that would have allowed employers and insurers to find creative alternatives to purchasing types of insurance that violate their conscience and the teachings of their Church. This is sad but not unexpected. Since the president misled the American people on February 10, the press has not done the kind of follow-up investigations we should expect from a free press. The mainstream press has repeatedly adopted the framework of the Obama administration in its reporting. Al comments.

4:20 - Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before It's Too Late
Many books have been written on conservative politics. Many more have been written calling Christians to holiness and spiritual revival. Few, however, have managed to combine a clear explanation of the conservative political perspective with its corresponding personal and spiritual virtue. Jay Richards tackles tough, controversial political issues facing conservative Christians today, including abortion, stem cell research, education, economics, health care, the environment, judicial activism, marriage, and others. Written to appeal to a broad spectrum of believers, he not only argues political questions from a Scriptural standpoint, it also provides simple arguments that Christians can use to support their beliefs in public settings.

5:00 – Kresta Comments: Blunt Amendment Fails in Senate
By a vote of 51-48 yesterday, Senate Democrats killed an amendment that would have allowed employers and insurers to find creative alternatives to purchasing types of insurance that violate their conscience and the teachings of their Church. This is sad but not unexpected. Since the president misled the American people on February 10, the press has not done the kind of follow-up investigations we should expect from a free press. The mainstream press has repeatedly adopted the framework of the Obama administration in its reporting. Al comments.

5:20 - Living the Call: An Introduction to the Lay Vocation
Since 1965 the number of priests in the United States has fallen by some 30,000. But over that same time period, more than 30,000 laypeople have come into the employ of parishes and other Church institutions. Laypeople have stepped up to serve in a variety of new ministries, and they are relieving their pastors of many administrative burdens, enabling them to focus on their proper priestly duties. Lay teachers now outnumber nuns, brothers, and priests in Catholic schools by at least 19 to 1. In the history of the Church, laypeople have never been asked to do so much. Michael Novak calls attention to this great shift and what it means.